• Porvair wins substantial development grant to develop fuel cell technology
• Fuel Cell Bi-Polar Plate Material development licence
• Porvair Strategic Review - significant increase in fuel cell investment
• US Patent Awarded. Porvair reaffirms commitment to fuel cell technology
• Porvair registers MetPore^TM

PORVAIR plc - WINS SUBSTANTIAL DEVELOPMENT GRANT FROM US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY TO DEVELOP FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY

29 June 2001

Porvair PLC, the fully listed UK based material sciences group announces that it has won a substantial development grant from the US Department of Energy to develop carbon and carbon composite bipolar plates for fuel cells. Porvair will also develop high-volume production methods for this technology.

The grant, announced by US Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, is for $6.1million on a cost-shared basis and is a substantial part of an $85 million award programme that is to be invested in energy efficient science and technology. 18 organisations and 5 universities benefited, with Porvair being the only UK listed company to be included.

The development grant will be used to broaden and accelerate Porvair's already committed research and development programme in fuel cell components technology.

Commenting on the award Ben Stocks, Chief Executive of Porvair plc said:
"This award is a tremendous accolade for Porvair, and a great endorsement for our technology, which received funding against considerable competition. The US Department of Energy's programme is the largest of its kind in the world, and we are delighted to be so significantly involved."

Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham said :
"Enhancing energy efficiency is an important goal of the President's National Energy Policy. By working together with partners from industry and the academic community we can make the technological advances and scientific breakthroughs needed to fully realize the potential of fuel cell technologies"

Enquiries

PORVAIR plc - FUEL CELL BI-POLAR PLATE MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT LICENCE

30 May 2001

Porvair plc ("Porvair") today announces that is has agreed terms to licence unique fuel cell bi-polar plate technology from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a US government funded energy research organisation.

The licence relates to a patent-protected porous carbon composite mouldable bi-polar plate which will undergo trials for use in proton exchange membrane ("PEM") fuel cell stacks.

Commenting, Ben Stocks, Chief Executive of Porvair said:

"Initial performance data on laboratory samples of this unique carbon material are very promising. There is considerable development work to be done but this is an exciting opportunity for Porvair and an excellent strategic fit with our existing MetPore (Trademark) fuel cell material technology".

Enquiries

PORVAIR plc - STRATEGIC REVIEW

24th January, 2001

Strategic outlook 2001

One of the successes of 2000 at Porvair has been a series of technical breakthroughs early in the year with porous and microporous metals and ceramics -a range of products we are developing under the trademarks Micromass TM and MetPore TM.

These materials have some exciting potential applications, particularly in fuel cell related technology. Fuel cell components use a variety of porous media to control and enhance the chemical reactions that drive the fuel cell. We are working with most of the leading companies in this field, and the materials - both metal and ceramic - are under test in heat exchange, catalyst substrate, emissions and moisture control applications. Industry commentators expect fuel cell technology will have a substantial part to play in meeting the world's growing requirement for electrical power. First commercial applications are expected to be 3 to 5 years away.

Development of such a field is a very exciting prospect for the Group, but clearly it does not come without risk. New technologies can fail to deliver their promise, or can take much longer to do so than initially anticipated. Such issues notwithstanding, we view this opportunity as significant for the Group, and believe that with our materials technology, intellectual property position and manufacturing know-how Porvair can become a leading provider of components and subsystems for fuel cell, fuel reformation and allied systems.

In consequence, we will increase research and development expenditure substantially from the start of 2001. We are working in new areas of materials science and intend to move to full scale production ahead of the market need. This investment programme will be treated as revenue expenditure and will impact on Group profits from 2001. This is an evolutionary change of emphasis for Porvair and has ramifications across the business. We will fund the investment ourselves, in order to retain title to intellectual property, and believe it important that we do so from existing cash generating resources. This may mean reviewing certain investment and development programmes in some parts of the Group and there may be short-term costs associated with this in 2001. We will be in a position to quantify these later in the year.

Whilst this is a change of emphasis, and 2001 will be a transition year, the primary strategic goal of Porvair does not change: to identify and develop material technologies that display clear technical edge, strong market position and significant opportunities for profitable growth.

US PATENT AWARD

1 December 2000

Porvair plc, the advanced materials group, today announces the award of a US patent for its novel microporous material - Micromass ™. This material offers wide ranging potential applications, including for fuel cell and fuel reforming componentry.

Fuel Cell and fuel reforming technology is fast developing, and uses a range of porous and microporous materials. Porvair's expertise in microporosity is helping to find solutions to problems encountered by fuel cell developers in heat exchange, catalyst substrate, emission and moisture control applications. Most of Porvair's activity in this field is proprietary either to Porvair or to their clients, among whom are International Fuel Cells, Nuvera, Shell Hydrogen and two major automotive manufacturers.

It is recognised that fuel cell technology is not expected to become commercial for several years, making this an attractive medium term prospect for the Group. Porvair's materials expertise, intellectual property position, quality assurance record and mass production capability position the Group well for the future.

Porvair sees a range of opportunities in this area, and are finalising increased R&D investment plans for the year ahead. Shareholders are expected to be advised of these, and the effect they will have on the Group, at the time of the preliminary announcement on 24 January 2001.

Commenting, Ben Stocks, CEO Porvair plc said: "This award is a positive way to end a satisfactory year for the Group. Micromass, and the processes associated with its manufacture have wide market application, but in particular underpin Porvair's position in the emerging fuel cell market."

Porvair registers MetPoreTM

November 2000

Porvair Fuel Cell Technology has registered the trademark MetPore^TM as a brand name for its innovative and unique family of porous and microporous metals.